Chapter 82: Backlash
Deep in the Arctic Ocean.
A massive submarine glides through the icy waters toward its target.
"How much farther?" Duke asks.
"We'll be there in five minutes at most," Breaker replies, checking the navigation display.
"Unbelievable!" Everyone gasps in astonishment as McCullen's underwater base slowly comes into view.
Beneath the vast Arctic Ocean, the base resembles a steel fortress, covering an immense area and looking like an underwater city from a distance.
"How did he manage to build such a massive structure?"
"Looks like he spent all his money on this," Ripcord scoffs.
Breaker activated the scanning device. "They've hollowed out the entire ice layer above—the tunnels inside are like a labyrinth. Look, these tubes must be the missile launch systems. He planned this from the very beginning. This whole operation is a massive conspiracy!"
"It seems Mason was right!" Scarlett exclaimed excitedly. "He really does have his reasons."
"We need to find a way in and launch an attack from the inside," Duke suggested. He'd seen the anguish on Ana's face when Mason shot him away.
He sensed that Ana still had feelings for him, so he wasn't ready to give up on her.
"Alright, I'll work on it," Breaker said, analyzing the structure of the entire facility.
Meanwhile, McCullen followed behind the visibly upset Ana, constantly trying to persuade her.
"Ana, listen to me! The warhead is in that maniac's hands. If we don't agree to his demands, we could all die here. Our plan, which we've been preparing for nearly a decade, will be ruined."
Ana stopped and looked at McCullen. "It was your plan!"
"Use your skills, just like you did with Daniel. With your charm, you can definitely seduce him. As long as he hands over the warhead, I promise I'll kill him immediately!"
"I will absolutely not let you suffer any indignity!" McCullen vowed confidently.
Hearing McCullen's promise, Ana suddenly remembered the humiliation she'd suffered at Mason's hands. She'd originally hated Mason intensely, but now that hatred had shifted—her loathing for McCullen surpassed even what she felt for Mason.
As this emotion intensified within her, reaching a critical peak, something snapped. Ana felt as if she'd broken through some kind of mental constraint.
When she regained full control of her thoughts, she could still hear McCullen's incessant persuasion.
She smiled, revealing a captivating expression that made McCullen unable to look away.
"Okay, I agree."
She stepped forward and linked her arm with McCullen's. "Take me to see the other two warheads. I haven't had enough of watching Paris burn. I want to see these two warheads level Washington D.C. and Moscow with my own eyes."
McCullen smiled and lightly kissed the back of Ana's hand. "It would be my pleasure."
The two arrived at the control center, where technicians had already loaded the prepared warheads into the launch tubes and were calibrating the targeting parameters.
"Can I do it myself? I want to destroy these two cities with my own hands."
Although McCullen found Ana's request somewhat unusual, he was currently preoccupied with retrieving the other warhead, so after a moment's hesitation, he nodded.
"Be careful. The warheads haven't been launched yet. If you press the wrong button—specifically the kill switch—the warheads will self-destruct before launch. This entire base is made of metal. It would be consumed by the nanomites."
"Which buttons?" Ana asked, feigning earnest attention.
"This one, and this one. They need to be pressed simultaneously. As long as you're careful, you won't make that kind of catastrophic mistake..." the technician patiently explained, but before he could finish, he watched in horror as Ana pressed both buttons without hesitation!
Buzz buzz buzz!
A piercing alarm sounded throughout the facility.
It took McCullen a full three seconds to process what had happened. His face contorted horribly, and he roared, "Ana, are you insane?!"
Ana's face was filled with hysterical rage. "Am I insane? You traded me away like property to another man, and you expect me to smile and play along?"
"Mr. McCullen, the nanotech warheads have self-destructed in the launch tubes. The tubes are being devoured by the nanomites—it won't be long before it affects the entire base!" a technician shouted. Through the monitors, it was clear that the metal infrastructure in the ice layer was rapidly disintegrating.
"Shut it down, shut it down now!"
Hearing McCullen's order, a technician quickly rushed to the case containing the warheads and pressed one of the kill switches.
Before he could press the second button, Ana fired her sidearm, sending the technician and the metal case flying across the room.
"Stop her!" McCullen shouted, and several Neo-Vipers behind him lunged at Ana.
McCullen activated his communicator. "Doctor, you'd better get to the control center. Ana has lost control. Didn't you tell me your programming was foolproof? Or is it because she's your sister that you injected her with too few nanomites?"
A sinister voice came through the communicator, sounding like someone with severely damaged vocal cords. "No one is immune to my programming."
With those words, the outer door of the control center opened, and a thin man wearing a bizarre half-face breathing apparatus and a black tactical suit walked in.
What he wore wasn't actually a mask, but a specialized life-support device. It was just a simple mechanical apparatus, yet it radiated a sinister and unsettling aura.
By this time, Ana had already had her weapon knocked away by the Neo-Vipers, and was restrained with her arms twisted behind her back. Without her interference, one of the Neo-Vipers deactivated the kill switch on the second warhead.
In that brief window, all the metal in the ice layer above had been consumed. Any longer, and the entire base would have been destroyed.
SLAP! McCullen struck Ana hard across the face. "Look what you've done!"
"Ten years of work—a total investment of thirteen billion dollars—gone!"
"Rex, you shouldn't have preserved her consciousness in the first place," McCullen seethed.
"But she's still my sister, my only sister. I love her." Though the words were full of affection, they sounded chilling when spoken by Rex through his respirator.
Ana was initially confused, then seemed to understand something. Her eyes widened in horror, and she screamed frantically, "Rex, you're alive, you sick bastard! Do you know what you've—"
Before she could finish, Rex tapped the control interface in his hand several times, and Ana froze like a deactivated android, her expression going blank.
BOOM!
Muffled explosions echoed from above, and the control center shook.
"We're under attack by an unidentified military force!"
"Awaiting orders!"
Rex grabbed McCullen. "We've been discovered. We need to evacuate immediately!"
"No, you're not leaving!"
"If anyone's leaving, you're coming with me!" A cold voice came from the control center doorway.
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